2015 Spa SuperPrixThere were three huge accidents during this race, fortunately with no injuries, in a 16-lap race that required a lot of slipstreaming. And patience, which is something not a lot of these drivers have. It took 2 laps for the battle for the win to be over, but behind them battles raged throughout the field, especially for the podium spots, often coming out of Eau Rouge three-wide and maintaining those positions all the way to Les Combes. Rather than explain the crashes in team reviews (I don't feel like describing them over and over again), here is a rundown:
Lap 1/16 - Les CombesRoberto Dinella, Kevin Bainomugisha and Alessandro Lucarelli are coming down the straight three wide (Dinella on the outside, Lucarelli inside). Bainomugisha gives Lucarelli a tap as they turn into the corner, which sends the Parma Corse spinning off to the inside of the track, and to the back of the pack. Bainomugisha bounced off and was saved from spinning by Dinella's car, which spun off to the outside. Bainomugisha continued on his merry way, until he had to wait for traffic.
Right behind them, the exact same thing happens to Tomo Kazama, Franc Piscine and Roland Davison, except the outside car, Kazama, didn't get hit. She took to the grass to avoid it, but was too fast and spun anyway.
Right behind
them, a third group were being muppets, Calvin Brooks, Jules Vergne and Yuri Sokolov. This time the outside car (Brooks) was the really unlucky one. While Vergne and Sokolov went spinning, Brooks got hit by the Octan and went rolling instead, and the resulting damage forced him out of the race. Of 9 cars involved in these incidents, he was the only one who didn't continue (in fact, the only one with major damage).
Lap 7/16 - La Source to Les CombesThis one started at La Source, after Salvatore Miccoli got sideways and struggled to keep control, which backed up a lot of cars. Specifally, about 7 or so - it's a miracle they got through La Source in one piece (probably because of yellows from Dinella's retirement). When they get to the braking zone for Les Combes, Tommi Hamalainen, Ragnar Larsen and Tonu Pykalisto (outside to inside) are three wide. Larsen in the middle had the scariest ride - Pykalisto was later on the brakes and when Larsen turned in, he hit the rear wheel of the Prospec. He was launched into the air, and was saved from going upside down by Hamalainen. Pykalisto is spun and hits the wall, losing a front wing. Hamalainen doesn't spin, and in fact does a remarkable job of staying on the track, but lost his wing in the hit from Larsen. The Swede miraculously continues, missing not only his front wing but the entire nose section of his car. There was almost nothing left for the pit crew to take off.
Lap 16/16 - Les CombesThis one wasn't so much about three drivers being idiots, just one. Takuma Taki had just left the pits, and was being challenged by Stefan Kuntz, when Thomas Yorke decided to dive down the inside of both. Kuntz was caught completely unaware, and turned in normally, right into Yorke's car. Yorke spins and rolls onto the apex of the left hander. Kuntz is forced into Taki, who is turned sideways, and his speed results in a roll. Kuntz bounces across the grass, but continues on. While this is happening, Peter Port and Joao Antonio Soares are fighting their own battle, and Soares is to be commended for pulling out of a move down the inside. If he had, Port would have been hung out to dry and would have hit the still moving Yorke, but as a result both were able to get through safely. Behind them however, it got worse for Red Bull - Dale Hamilton couldn't avoid Yorke, and put himself out. This has an added problem - Yorke bounces off Hamilton, and straight into the path of Victoria Desai. She only lost a front wing. In the end, both Red Bulls and Yorke did not make it to the finish.
ProspecBoth Cameron and Greenlaw were part of the melee for the podium, but couldn't quite get to the front of it. In the end, it didn't matter, as both cars became victims of problems on consecutive laps, Cameron on lap 6 with an oil leak and Greenlaw on lap 7 with a puncture that threw him into the inside wall on the main straight. Between these retirements Pykalisto was involved in the second crash at Les Combes, which put him well out of contention.
AeroracingSouto Maior spent most of the first stint running a magnificent second, holding off Swerts and Melville beautifully. But when he was passed by Swerts into Les Combes on lap 8, he lost his cool a bit, and despite being left a gap the size of Belgium to the inside of Swerts at the Bus Stop, still managed to hit the Jones car. Swerts managed to continue almost completely unaffected (for a few corners anyway), while Souto Maior managed to save a spin, but lost a spot to Melville as an added bonus. As for Pacer, his full time debut was fairly solid, running inside the top 15 all race and in the end only 2 seconds from a point.
JonesSwerts took yet another fine podium, plus fastest lap as well. The collision with Souto Maior brought Melville right to Swerts' wing, and the Aussie powered past on the Kemmel straight, Swerts unable to do anything about it. He was one of the latest stoppers, which meant he had a shorter stop and less fuel for the last two laps, but his pace between Souto Maior's stop and his own was not terrific and he lost the place, only to pick it up on lighter fuel. Dinella's race came to an unventful end on lap 7 with an oil leak after the first big accident.
West CliffWow. Davies really needed a big result, and boy did he deliver. He never looked in doubt for the win, taking it by almost 20 seconds. With Greenlaw retiring and Jantscher only 5th, the only bad result was Melville in second. Port, on the other hand, was less impressive. The total spots gained by West Cliff drivers: 0.
TakagiMeh. Two cars didn't finish, Voeckler was pathetic and eventually went out with a brake failure while Tenpenny came within metres of being classified, and was marginally less pathetic. Takagi didn't do much better, finishing outside the top 30.
OctanBainomugisha couldn't be solely blamed for the first Les Combes Crash, and despite that managed to finish in the top 20. Justin Case was also good on debut, a mere three tenths of a second outside the top 20. Vergne was slow all race, and was the last car on the lead lap. Probably because he had a full tank of fuel, as he didn't pit.
Porto WineMondlane did not finish, a puncture at Pouhon on lap 12 forcing him out. Annoyingly for the team, he was scheduled to pit that lap. Soares spent most of the day fighting Ristic and Case, but couldn't pass them by the end of the race.
KingfisherWith Brooks the first DNF, Davidson had to do the work for the team, and took a solid 15th place. He was quiet, and did most of his passing without anyone knowing he was even there. A fair feat considering his grid position.
ZombieKartAnother point, with Walsh taking a very good 10th place without getting into any major incidents. He spent all race fighting with Hannesson and Pacer, before they spread out after their stops. Hershall only managed 32nd, with Zayas even further behind in 37th, both not having brilliant races.
Parma CorseMiccoli impressed in qualifying, not much slower than Hannesson, but couldn't keep up in the race. He had a fairly long train of cars behind him for most of the race, and a good job of keeping them behind. Hannesson managed to score another point, while Lucarelli never really recovered from the first lap incident, mostly because of slower cars who refused to make it easy for him.
ZimSportMelville's second place and the poor results of his main challengers mean he moves into the lead of the championship with three rounds to go. Melville looked destined to finish fourth early on, until Souto Maior's brain fade gave him a sniff. The team had one scary moment, when Zimmer picked up an electrical problem and was forced into the pits - on the same lap as Melville. He entered the pits just as Melville rejoined, so the team got very lucky. It was late enough to ensure he didn't need to pit again. Matt Grove wasn't particularly good, but managed a top 30.
FusionAt least Jantscher scored points to keep Melville honest. He wasn't very quick, but drove smart with a no-stop strategy, and made a last moment pass on McAllister for fifth, although it wasn't a clean one. He also picked up a trip to the stewards office for passing Rick Simpson under yellow flags at the Bus Stop for Tenpenny's stranded car. Kuntz was on track for a top 20 when he got taken out in the third Les Combes Crash, but was relegated to 26th as a result.
Gulf JCWDavidson spent most of the day stuck behind Samelko, and once he got past it was too late for him to do anything of note. Simpson, despite his brilliant qualifying effort, couldn't take home any points, as he was defenseless on anything that even remotely resembled a straight. To his credit, he lost 13 places and only one was because someone outbroke him into a corner - and even then it was under yellows. Any chance at a top 10 disappeared when he had a collision with Yorke on lap 12, which saw the Good Call spin.
Best In The WorldTomo Kazama was making a brilliant fight through the field - right up until a wheel fell off, and the reigning champion recorded a DNF. McAllister at least scored points, and Lon's gamble to put Verbeeck in the non-scoring car almost loooked stupid as he had a brilliant start to be in the top 10 - until his electrics packed up and he fell to the back of the pack after repairs.
Good CallYorke went out in Les Combe Crash III, plus caused a collision with Simpson that out Reatherson out and cost himself a front wing. Hamalainen's race was ruined in Les Combes Crash II. Piscine managed 12th, not enough for points but enough to salvage some dignity.
Linton-SolindahlA double-DNF sadly, Reatherson was the innocent bystander in the Simpson/Yorke crash as he came into Pouhon and didn't see the stranded Yorke, putting himself out. Travesen picked up dangerous driving penalty points after he picked up a puncture and decided the best place to stop was in the middle of Eau Rouge.
DofascoMaylander was crap, as usual, but Samelko did a decent job, keeping faster cars behind him fairly and generally being faster. Still not enough to call the team good. Or even for a result - both cars were disqualified from the race for pit irregularities - both Maylander's and Samelko's stops were some 5 seconds faster than anyone else's, despite putting more fuel in than those on similar strategies. It was revealed they used a pump that put fuel in too fast, and both cars were excluded from the results. As it was a team penalty and not a driver one, neither driver received penalty points and the team given a suspended event ban. At least Samelko finished on the lead lap. (Seriously, 5 seconds! When most were doing 8-10s)
Red BullIt's bad enough that two cars retired on the final lap in the same incident, but it got worse. Silva retired moments later with an oil leak. 3 cars, 3 final lap DNFs.
HydookAny chance Jancker had of points vanished when he was punted off by Hannesson, who had been punted off by Brown. He spent the remainder of the race following Lucarelli around, but never able to make a pass. Ristic actually managed to beat him for once, finishing 23rd, while Peynirci was doing a fairly good job, hanging around Larsen and Grove, before a suspension failure put him out.
JLDTeam of the race. Annoyingly. If it wasn't for Davies' domination, Nobushige Fukuda would be completely unchallenged for driver of the race, fighting from nowhere up to 8th place. The only driver he couldn't pass was his teammate, who was just as quick but a bit less noticeable. Brown was very good and Mad Uncle El Presidente now has some thinking about whether its worth keeping Joel in the car...
Oh, and Douglas did sod all after pitting to fix an electrical issue. Apart from hitting Hamalainen and thus losing 4 places. At the final corner.
KamahaIt says a lot that I very nearly forgot to write something about them
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Nurmester was his usual awesome qualifying/poor racing self, including an almost spin at Eau Rouge, Desai was lucky to finish after Les Combes Crash III, and Sampson was just anonymous.
ShonanSokolov didn't make any of his usual forward progress, stuck with the weakest car in the field apart from the Octans. Harmsky only wound up 13th due to some brilliant defending.
NurminenLappalainen had a very strong performance to take 14th place, one of the few drivers who managed to pass Miccoli (and he did it twice!). Larsen's race was ruined by Les Combes Crash II, but just finishing after that was a magnificent effort.
MazzacaneNot much was expected of the single-car team, but to take 20th place was spectacular, and it should single out Thiago as one to watch, both at Surfers and next season. An inability to pass Miccoli hurt, but a good defensive drive ensured he didn't suffer too much as a result.
RestovMeh. Not nearly as impressive as Mazzacane, Restov Jr spent the race fighting with Richard Hershall until his engine sprung a leak on lap 10.
TassieI didn't think it was possible to get more pathetic than Dofasco, but here we are. The Tassies were the only two to benefit from Maylander's disqualification. 'Nuff said.
ResultsCode: Select all
Pos Driver Team Time/Retired Gap
1 Jordan Davies West Cliff 33:48.417 16 LAPS
2 Daniel Melville ZimSport 34:05.535 + 17.118
3 Eric Swerts Jones 34:06.789 + 18.372
4 Raul Souto Maior Aeroracing 34:08.549 + 20.132
5 Marko Jantscher Fusion 34:17.751 + 29.334
6 Judd McAllister BITWM 34:18.693 + 30.276
7 Stephanie Brown JLD 34:21.401 + 32.984
8 Nobushige Fukuda JLD 34:34.038 + 45.621
9 Olafur Ragnar Hannesson Parma Corse 34:36.951 + 48.534
10 Shane Walsh ZombieKart 34:39.925 + 51.508
11 Gary Pacer Aeroracing 34:42.081 + 53.664
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12 Franc Piscine Good Call 34:43.484 + 55.067
13 Joe Harmsky Shonan 34:45.609 + 57.192
14 Jari Lappalainen Nurminen 34:47.073 + 58.656
15 Scott Davidson Kingfisher 34:47.309 + 58.892
16 Rick Simpson Gulf JCW 34:47.665 + 59.248
17 Ryan Zimmer ZimSport 34:47.750 + 59.333
18 Kevin Bainomugisha Octan 34:52.865 + 1:04.448
19 Salvatore Miccoli Parma Corse 34:55.734 + 1:07.317
20 Thiago Mazzacane Mazzacane 34:58.113 + 1:09.696
21 Peter Port West Cliff 34:58.289 + 1:09.872
22 Justin Case Octan 34:58.323 + 1:09.906
23 Branko Ristic Hydook 34:59.695 + 1:11.278
24 Joao Antonio Soares Porto Wine 34:59.813 + 1:11.396
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25 Alessandro Lucarelli Parma Corse 35:06.440 + 1:18.023
26 Stefan Kuntz Fusion 35:07.712 + 1:19.295
27 Carsten Jancker Hydook 35:07.754 + 1:19.337
28 Bob Sampson Kamaha 35:15.407 + 1:26.990
29 Ragnar Larsen Nurminen 35:15.507 + 1:27.090
30 Matt Grove ZimSport 35:16.039 + 1:27.622
31 Victoria Desai Kamaha 35:18.625 + 1:30.208
32 Richard Hershall ZombieKart 35:21.090 + 1:32.673
33 Tetsuya Takagi Takagi 35:23.218 + 1:34.801
34 Nick Nurmester Kamaha 35:24.336 + 1:35.919
35 Yuri Sokolov Shonan 35:32.989 + 1:44.572
36 Tommi Hamalainen Good Call 35:35.440 + 1:47.023
37 Roberto Zayas ZombieKart 35:36.046 + 1:47.629
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38 Tonu Pykalisto Prospec 35:38.661 + 1:50.244
39 Jef Verbeeck BITWM 35:43.866 + 1:55.449
40 Roland Davidson Gulf JCW 35:45.279 + 1:56.862
41 James Douglas JLD 35:46.738 + 1:58.321
42 Jules Vergne Octan 35:56.935 + 2:08.518
43* Dale Hamilton Red Bull Collision (L16) +1 LAP
44* Thomas Yorke Good Call Collision (L16) +1 LAP
45* Takuma Taki Red Bull Collision (L16) +1 LAP
46* Miguel Silva Red Bull Oil Leak (L16) +1 LAP
47 Fidel Edwards Tassie +1 LAP
48 Barry Edwards Tassie +1 LAP
49* Colin Peynirci Hydook Suspension (L13) +4 LAPS
DSQ Cezary Samelko Dofasco Disqualified
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DSQ Jan Maylander Dofasco Disqualified
DNF Frank Tenpenny Takagi Water Leak (L12)
DNF Samora Mondlane Porto Wine Puncture (L12)
DNF Quentin Reatherson Linton-Solindahl Collision (L12)
DNF Edward Restov Jr Restov Water Leak (L10)
DNF Benoit Voeckler Takagi Brakes (L9)
DNF Paul Travesen Linton-Solindahl Puncture (L8)
DNF Dan Greenlaw Prospec Puncture (L7)
DNF Roberto Dinella Jones Oil Leak (L7)
DNF Tomo Kazama BITWM Loose Wheel (L6)
DNF Nathanael Cameron Prospec Oil Leak (L6)
DNF Calvin Brooks Kingfisher Collision (L1)
Fastest lap: Eric Swerts (2:03.882)
Championship standings and stewards' report coming soon.
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